The Florida Education Association and National Education Association filed a federal lawsuit today challenging the constitutionality of Florida’s teacher evaluation system. The system was created under a law passed in 2011 known as Senate Bill 736. State law requires school districts base at least 40 percent of a teacher’s evaluation on student Florida Comprehensive Assessment […]

As the spring semester winds down around the country, one teacher, Gerald Conti, is not going quietly. Conti is retiring from Westhill High School in Syracuse, NY at the end of this school year and his resignation letter has become a manifesto for critics of the Common Core. In his letter — which he posted […]

Senators said they changed a key provision in the session’s most controversial education bill on the advice of Education Commissioner Tony Bennett. Thursday a Senate panel approved the Parent Empowerment in Education bill, better known as the parent trigger bill. Members altered the bill to conform with the House version, which has already been approved […]

Shakira Lockett always got pretty good grades in school. That’s why she was surprised to find out she had failed her college placement exam at Miami Dade College. Lockett spent a year a half taking remedial classes in reading, writing and math before she could start earning credits toward a degree. She finished her studies […]

A Senate committee is attempting to defuse a funding dispute between the state-sponsored Florida Virtual School and private online providers. Tuesday, the Rules Committee added an amendment to an online education bill asking the Florida Department of Education to study funding for online courses and to recommend changes by the end of the year. The […]

Patricia Levesque runs two foundations created by former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush — the Foundation for Florida’s Future and the Foundation for Excellence in Education. Levesque and Bush are a powerful team advocating for school choice, the controversial parent trigger bill, and Common Core standards being implemented nationwide. Levesque is a divisive figure, drawing criticism […]

A loose-knit network of education activists generally opposed to the direction Florida has been taking its schools recently is attempting to organize into a more potent political force. The groups include parents, people who want more state funding for schools, and others who are fed up with the brand of testing-based school accountability that Florida […]

“It’s the next big thing.” Jump to… Common Core Race to the Top No Child Left Behind Standardized Tests Accountability That’s a familiar refrain in K-12 education. And the latest big thing may be bigger than all the others: It’s the Common Core education standards that Florida and 45 other states are now putting in […]

More than half of Florida’s Hispanic and black students at state universities currently eligible for the state’s Bright Futures college scholarship would no longer qualify when new standards take effect on July 1, according to a University of South Florida analysis obtained by the Florida College Access Network. By comparison, about 40 percent of white […]

The Florida House has released its proposed budget for the fiscal year beginning July 1. Speaker Will Weatherford says education was prioritized over everything else. “The big winner is education,” Weatherford said. “We invested over a billion dollars into our K-12 education system from last year.” He said that amounts to a 6.2 percent increase […]